Red Ribbons
by Marionette-Hime
Summary: Uchiha Aka isn't exactly thrilled to be reincarnated into the Naruto world. Sure, she may have glowing red eyes of doom, but she doesn't want to die again. Stuck smack dab in the 3rd shinobi war with the Uchiha massacre coming up, she has to figure out something to do. By the time she's done with the naruto verse, canon is going to be completely shattered. A SIOC fic.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Naruto or any associated characters. Please enjoy the story :)**

* * *

I died in september. It was an ordinary day, maybe a bit colder than normal, but nothing exciting. I just wanted a chocolate bar.

I was at a convenience store and another customer pulled a gun on the cashier. He ordered the cashier to hand over all the money in the cash register. The cashier did as he said, quickly handing over the money, a few crumpled bills, no more than fifty dollars.

Everything went downhill from there. The man was about to leave the store when several cop cars pulled up. He grabbed me as a hostage.

I don't really remember anything that happened next, it was all a blur. I remember screaming, red and blue flashing lights, a gunshot, and then nothing. I died that day.

Then I was somewhere warm and peaceful. It was dark, and cozy; I could have stayed there forever, but I didn't.

* * *

When I wake up I can barely see. My limbs are unresponsive, and I can just make out the blurry form of a woman smiling down at me. She says something, but I can't understand her. She speaks Japanese, and although I've watched enough anime to recognize it and know a few words, I'm anything but fluent.

At some point a man comes over. He's taller than her, with black hair and dark eyes just like her. Then, she picks me up. I shouldn't fit in her arms. I may be short, barely over 5 feet tall, but I'm not that small. Unless they're giants. That makes sense. I was shot then abducted by giant shape shifting aliens. "Uchiha Ayaka" The woman cooes. Wait, _Uchiha. _I've been abducted by alien cosplayers?

The woman smiles as a small boy, maybe about five, comes over. He peers down at me, all wide eyes and smiles. He's honestly adorable. He grins at me "Imouto '' he squeals. _Imouto_. That means little sister. Not to mention I'm small, about the size of a baby.

Baby? Uchiha? Frick. Frickity Rainbow Narwhals. Dammit all to hell. I start crying. As much as I love watching Naruto, I'm apparently an Uchiha. I'm a member of the clan with the awesome red eyes of doom, and at some point, I will probably be killed by Itachi. Frankly, I don't want to die again.

I kind of break down. I have no clue when I am in the naruto timeline, and I can't take any of my past knowledge at face value. I could be in canon Naruto, but I could just as easily be in any fan created alternate universe world. Not to mention even if I was in canon, any action I take could drastically change the timeline, even if it was unintentional. Therefore, like the rational teenage girl I am, well was, wait… am I still a girl? Please say I am. Either way, screw canon.

* * *

Most rational people would be upset about being separated from their friends and family and reincarnated into a highly dangerous ninja anime. The thing is, I'm an only child with dead parents. I'd just moved from a small town in Arkansas to New York City to start college. I still had a few friends back in Arkansas, but we were never close. I had already acknowledged that we'd probably only talk in phone conversations before drifting apart as we made new friends during college. As for the dangerous ninja anime part, I've always had a few screws loose.

It's been a couple of months since I was reborn. I still have no clue what time frame I've been reborn in, but I do know that I live in Konoha so it's not the warring states era. Thank heavens for that. The warring states era is not my cup of tea.

Anyway, I have a brother now, and my new brother is frankly awesome. His name is Kosuke. Every day after the academy, he'll come find me. He'll sit by me as he does his homework, babbling about his day and explaining different homework problems to me. He knows I'm a pretty smart baby.

"Imouto" Kosuke yells, bursting into my room. I gurgle happily, batting at his nose as he picks me up. He giggles. "Stop it Aka-chan." I like that name alot better than Ayaka. _Red _is a lot better than _colorful flower. _

He pulls out a few hiragana and kanji worksheets. Carefully filling in the worksheets, he explains several of the characters to me. Kaa-san finds it cute that he's being such a good older brother. She doesn't think I can understand him; I admit, that is sensible.

"Anyway" he babbles "we learned the leaf sticking exercise today. I'm one of the best in the class at it. Not to brag or anything. See!" He grabs one of the kanji worksheets and sticks it to his forehead. "The only one better than me is Hyuga-san. She's pretty stuck up, and thinks that she is better than everyone else. She is really not. Well, she's not better than me, but she is better than most of the other girls in the class."

Kosuke finishes up his worksheets pretty quickly. "Come on Aka-chan." He picks me up again and carrys me outside. "You can watch as I throw Kunai."

Kosuke's pretty good for a six year old. All the kunai land in the inner rings. Half of them hit the bullseye. He eventually switches to shuriken before practicing katas. Red faced and sweaty, he flops down onto the grass next to me.

I've thought long and hard about when to say my first word. I have no clue when babies are supposed to talk, and I really don't care if I come off as too intelligent. Honestly, it's probably better for me if I do. I know exactly how dangerous the shinobi world is and the sooner I can defend myself, the better. Either way, there's no question that I'll say my first word to my brother. Both Tou-san and Kaa-san work in the Uchiha police force; they're hardly home. I know they love me, but I'm much more attached to my brother. I've never had a sibling, and he is honestly adorable.

"Ko!" I chime. I can't say his full name yet.

His eyes light up as he jolts in surprise. "Aka-chan! You said my name!"

He squeals, dancing around our backyard training ground. He's not a very Uchiha-y Uchiha. Kosuke-Nii is more like Shisui or Obito than anything.

Eventually I learn to walk then run. At three, my eight year old brother takes it upon himself to teach me to throw blunted kunai. I'm not that good, but I get better. I'll often practice right along with him. At four he teaches me basic katas and hand signs. At five he teaches me to tree walk. Kaa-san was not amused. The genin teams she hires to baby sit me have a blast trying to get me down from the ceiling and walls. Most of the Jounin Senseis are too amused to help. They only step in if I fall, which isn't often.

When my brother is ten, I'm five. He graduates the academy as I enter it.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Naruto or any associated characters. Enjoy the 2nd chapter!**

* * *

To put it simply the academy is boring. I've been at the academy for seven months already, and it's been the longest seven months of my life. It may be a ninja school, but it is still a school. In my past life I coasted through high school, averaging B's and C's, and never really putting in any effort. I found the teachers dry and the curriculum boring. That doesn't mean I wasn't smart, my IQ was well above average. I just didn't try.

This life, however, I was determined to be the best student possible. Not because I liked school, but because I wanted to graduate early. That was my initial plan. I still want to graduate early, but I'm not exactly the best student. I never pay attention in class since I know most of the material already. Kosuke-nii taught me chakra control, katas, hand signs, along with kunai and shuriken throwing. Not to mention, I'd continue practicing, do laps around the back yard, and read his old academy books while he was at the academy. I know most of the book work already, and I am pretty good with the practical stuff. During class, I end up reading advanced ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu scrolls, chakra theory ones, studying vital points, or daydreaming about the future. Itachi will eventually graduate from the academy in 1 year, hopefully I can do the same.

"Aka!" Sensei calls out.

"Hai Sensei?"

"Since you weren't paying attention..." See what I mean? I'm not the best student. It's just so boring. I even have to learn basic math again.

"Aka?"

"Ah? What was that Sensei?" The class bursts into laughter.

Sensei rolls his eyes. "I said why don't you tell us the hand signs for the Bunshin, Kawarimi, and henge no jutsu."

I'm pretty sure that's not what he said. We learn those in the final year of the academy, not the first. Either that or you learn them from your older brother who literally can not say no to your puppy dog eyes. Wait... The academy three? Those are the jutsus you need to know to graduate from the academy..."Would you like me to demonstrate them to Sensei?" I smile sweetly at him.

He raises a skeptical eyebrow. "If you can Aka."

_Henge_: transform into Sensei. _Bunshin_: form three clones. _Kawarimi:_ Switch with an empty chair. I smile, dropping the henge. "Like that Sensei?"

"Uh… yes. If you could stay after class for a minute."

"Hai!" I sit back down and open up a scroll, a taijutsu one, as Sensei continues with his lecture. It's probably bad that I forgot his name, and the names of all my other classmates. To be fair, I really am bad with names. It does not help that I tune out the rest of the class. I'll make sure to remember my genin team mate's names to make up for it.

Eventually the bell rings and I skip over to Sensei's desk. "What's up Sensei?"

"You're a very smart young lady Aka. Honestly, you could probably move up several years. I have a test I can give you to see if you can move up. It's your choice though, if you want to talk it over with your parents, or wait, it's more than fine."

"Can I take the test now? I'm sure my parents would be fine with me moving up a year."

He nods his head in assent. Rifling through the file cabinets in his desk, he pulls out a thick pamphlet. "Here you go. You have 90 minutes to complete the test."

The test is easy. There are a few questions I don't know the answers to, but I'm certain I passed. I'll probably be moved up to the sixth year or Sensei will talk with the hokage so I can graduate now. That was definitely the graduation exam. Most of the stuff on it was from Kosuke-nii's final year text books. Not to mention, tensions are rising between the various shinobi villages. The 3rd shinobi war is fast approaching, and Konoha will soon need all the shinobi it can get.

Sensei collects my papers as I finish. "If you could come in before class to speak with me Aka-chan, that would be wonderful."

"Okay Sensei!"

* * *

"Kosuke-nii!" I grin, throwing myself at my brother as I arrive home.

"Hey Imouto. How was school?"

"It was Awesome! Sensei gave me a test to see if I could move up a year."

"Really?"

"Yes really." I whine, sticking my tongue out at him.

He ruffles my hair. "Awwww, my cute little Imouto is growing up"

"Nii-san, don't touch my hair" I whine. Honestly, I love my hair. It's fluffy and wavy, and dammit, Kosuke will take any excuse to mess it up. I keep it shoulder length and braid the sides back so it stays out of my face. He knows I love my hair which is why he'll go out of his way to mess it up, annoying bugger that he is.

"Do you want me to help you with your taijutsu?" Kosuke-nii asks.

"Do you have to ask?"

"Sassy little girl aren't you?" I stick my tongue out at him "And immature to."

"Laugh it up Nii-san. This little girl will beat your ass in this sparring match."

"Mouuu, Imouto! Where did you learn such naughty words?"

"Naughty words?" I blink innocently at him "You mean like…"

"Fine, fine." Kosuke-nii interrupts. "I won't ask, but Aka, don't curse around Kaa-san and Tou-san, they'll think I taught you."

"Okay Nii-san, but only if you teach me more cool Jutsu!"

He grins. "Got it, but first we should check your chakra affinity."

I perk up at that. Sparring can wait, Chakra paper was the one thing Kosuke has always refused to buy me. I'd buy it myself, but you need to be a genin to buy it. "Really!" I light up.

"Consider it a present for possibly moving up a level."

I grin as he pulls out a slip of paper from his pocket. "Nii-san why are you carrying chakra paper around?"

"Ahh… my Sensei had us test our affinity a few days ago. I tore a tiny piece off of my sheet to give to you the next time you asked. I would have bought you some the first time you asked, but it's super expensive." I facepalm. He really can't say no to my puppy dog eyes.

"Mahh don't look at me like that my cute little Imouto. Anyway," Nii-san explains "Fire will burn, rock will crumble, Lightning will wrinkle, wind will cut, and water will soak. Uchiha normally have a fire affinity, but there are a few outliers."

"Got it!" I take the small piece of paper, grinning as it splits in two then burns. I cackle. "Wind and Fire! Bow down before the destructive force of my pyromaniac tendencies!"

Nii-san slowly backs away. I may have accidently set the house on fire once. I swear, it wasn't intentional. Only a tiny corner of our house got burnt. It really wasn't that bad.

"Aka. Fire bad." Nii-san slowly says, as if talking to a two year old. It's also why Kaa-san and tou-san refuse to teach me any fire jutsus. Not that it matters since Kosuke-nii will teach me them. As much as fire is really pretty with its flickering tongues of red and yellow, and it's gorgeous ruby reds, Nii-san knows I'll be careful. I only tried a fire jutsu inside once, and sure the house caught fire, but to be fair, I didn't think I'd actually make it work. At least it wasn't a large fire jutsu, just a small campfire starting one, but fire is still fire, and the house definitely got a bit singed.

* * *

The next morning I skip over to the academy. Sensei is sitting at his desk grading papers when I pull open the door. "Ahh, Aka."

"Hey Sensei. What's the verdict?"

"He smiles at me. Well, I ended up giving you the graduation exam instead of a placement exam. Besides taijutsu, which I didn't test you on, you passed with shining colors. Even then, your taijutsu is at least fourth year level. Not to mention, your parents commented that you can keep up with your older brother, who's a genin, in a taijutsu spar, even if you don't win. I talked to the Hokage and your parents, and they all agree that you can graduate early."

I perk up. "Really sensei?"

"Yep." He passes me a Hitai-ate. Grinning, I tie it around my neck.

"You can meet your new team at training ground eleven."

"Got it! Thanks Sensei!" I shout, running out of the academy.

Training ground eleven is only a few minutes away from the academy. It's a large open field, perfect for practicing ninjutsu or sparring. There's a small stream near the edge for water ninjutsu and learning to water walk.

There's three people, all guys, and a ninken already at the training ground.

"Uchiha Ayaka is presume." A man, in his early twenties, speaks up. He's obviously from the Inuzuka clan. He has messy brown hair, red triangles, and a large, very wolfish ninken as his partner.

"Yep. You can call me Aka though. I don't particularly care for my full name."

He grins, "Inuzuka Yokuto. This is my partner Hiroto."

"Pleasure to meet you." I smile.

"Okay. Why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves. Likes, dislikes, dreams. Also strengths, weaknesses, and something you want to learn." We all sit down in the shade beneath the trees. "I'm Inuzuka Yokuto, your new Jounin sensei. You can call me Yokuto-Sensei. It's my first time as a Jounin Sensei. I like Hiroto, my ninken, taijutsu, and barbeque. I dislike most sweet foods. I'm pretty good at taijutsu, but could be better at genjutsu. I hope to help all of you grow into wonderful young shinobi."

"Hi. I'm Ito Hisao. Please take care of me. I'm fourteen years old and work at the hospital part time as a medic-nin. I like my younger sister and reading while I dislike people who don't think before they act." He nervously runs a hand through his spiky blue hair. He seems very shy and fidgety. "I'm good at medical ninjutsu, poison, and throwing sebon. I'm not that good with elemental ninjutsu, but I would like to get better at it. In the future, I would like to be an awesome medic-nin."

"Hey! I'm Tanaka Saburo. I have two older brothers. I'm ten. I like dessert and working at my dad's weapon's shop. I don't like udon. I'm pretty good with kenjutsu and traps, but horrible at genjutsu. I want to join ANBU, and beat my brothers in a spar. I'd also like to learn more ninjutsu." Saburo seems super bubbly and bright. He's a pretty cute kid with sandy brown hair, freckles, and dimples. A tanto is strapped to his back. He seems like the kind of person that everyone likes. Honestly, I think we'll work well as a team.

"I'm Uchiha Aka. I'm six. I like my older brother, reading up on ninjutsu theory, fire, and miso soup. I don't like fangirls, they show the worst side of kunoichi. I'm good at ninjutsu, but could improve my taijutsu. I would like to create my own justus. Also I would like to improve on my taijutsu, and eventually create my own Taijustu style. My dream is to make jounin." It's probably a bit too morbid to say that my dream is to not die.

"Okay! Great." Sensei continues. "Now as Saburo-kun and Hisao-kun already now, there's a second genin graduation exam. The goal of the test is to work as a team to land a hit on me, I'll even handicap myself by not fighting with Hiroto. Use anything at your disposal. I'll give you 15 minutes to strategize! After that you'll have an hour to hit me." He vanishes in a shushin after setting an alarm clock near the edge of the training ground.

I stare awkwardly at my new teammates. "So, it's nice to meet you guys I guess."

"Nice to meet you Aka-Chan" Saburo grins. "And you as well Hisao-kun or san? Which one do you prefer. Or can I call you Senpai? You guys can call me Saburo-kun if you want or you can use san if you're not comfortable with using kun yet.

"Um, whatever you prefer Saburo-kun." Hisao stammers.

"Got it Senpai! So does anyone have a plan?" Saburo asks.

"Well," I explain. "I guess Saburo-kun could set up traps around the training ground. Hisao-kun and I can help with that. Once the fifteen minutes are over, we can try to herd Sensei into the traps"

"That makes sense. I can provide support with senbon and attack Sensei from behind while you two attack him head on." Hisao says.

"Sounds good." Saburo agrees.

* * *

We quickly get some basic traps set up using ninja wire, kunai, and some of Hisao's poisoned senbon. With some of the traps, setting off one will put you directly into the path of another. After fifteen minutes have passed, Yokuto-Sensei reappears with a shunshin.

I run towards him, throwing a punch. Sensei easily ducks out of the way, dodging Hisao's sword strike as well. Me and Saburo rush forward, attacking together. I swing low, and he swings high, while Hisao throws several senbon at Sensei. Sensei dodges both the senbon and our attacks.

As Saburo and I move in to attack again, exchanging several volleys with Sensei, we don't hit him once. Hisao attempts to attack him from behind, but we end up crashing into each other as Sensei disappears with a substitution jutsu.

As time ticks by, we can't land a single hit. Yakuto-Sensei dodges the fire jutsus, sword strikes, traps, senbon, and chakra scalpels with ease. Nothing we try works. We come close to hitting him a few times, but Sensei is a jounin. He's drastically faster and better at fighting than us.

"Any last minute ideas?" I pant.

"No. Let's just rush him all at once. Maybe we can overwhelm him, but I doubt it will work." Saburo frowns.

We all rush Sensei, I throw out several small fire balls, Hisao fires several senbon, while Saburo lashes out with his Tanto. Sensei dodges each attack.

BZZZZZ. The alarm clock blares as our time runs out. Yakuto-Sensei waves us over to the shade of one of the trees. We all plop down, exhausted. Sensei looks like he's barely broken a sweat. "I've decided that you all pass!"

"Pass!" Saburo squawks, jolting in surprise "But we didn't land a single hit."

Sensei grins. "It doesn't matter. I just wanted to see if you could fight well and as a team. So congratulations! You are now team eleven." He wraps us all up in a hug. "Come on, let's head over to Yakiniku Q, I'll treat you guys to lunch."


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Naruto or any associated characters. (Except for my OCs.)**

* * *

Sensei buys each of us chakra weights. I strap the bands to my wrists and ankles. They're red with a simple seal that allows you to increase or decrease the weight by adding or releasing chakra. I set each of the weights at 5 pounds, planning to increase them at the end of each month.

"Sensei..." Saburo complains. "Do we have to wear these? They're so heavy."

"Yeah, you do. They'll help increase strength and speed. That will be crucial in kenjutsu. And If you don't like the weights, you'll like training even less."

"Really? Why is that Yokuto-Sensei?" Kosuke asks.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but it's likely Konoha will be going to war soon." All three of us pale at that. "I'd rather overwork you now if it means you'll have an advantage on the battlefield. As such, we'll be training from six to four each day. We'll train in set blocks. We'll start with stretching and endurance training for an hour, taijutsu for two hours, teamwork and strategy for thirty minutes, ninjutsu and genjutsu for two hours, then stealth and tracking for an hour. After that we'll break for lunch. After lunch you guys can work on whatever you want to. Medical ninjutsu, kenjutsu, or developing your own taijutsu style, it doesn't matter. At the end of each day, we'll have a free for all spar. We won't be taking any missions until later. Got it?"

"Hai Yakuto-Sensei." We chorus.

* * *

Ten hours each day is a lot. I'm dead tired everyday after training. Kosuke-nii just smirks in amusement at my suffering.

Thankfully, we take numerous breaks. Granted, our breaks consist of memorizing important facts and learning theory, but at least it helps counterbalance the energy intensive training.

I work on developing my own taijutsu style during self style relies on flexibility, adgility, critical hits, and redirecting your opponents blows. It's very fluid, making it hard to distinguish one move from the next. At some point, I'll want to incorporate some sort of weapon into the style.

I also learn how to use chakra strings. It takes a bit to coax my chakra into long thin threads, but I get there. It does wonders for my chakra control. I'm not planning on using them for puppetry or anything, but they're really convenient and veristle. I can use them to retrieve a disarmed weapon or to grab a snack from the kitchen.

I learn to water walk as well. Both Saburo and Hisao can already do it, but it doesn't take me long to catch up. My Chakra control is decent enough and I already know treewalking.

With me developing my own stuff and Hisao practicing medical ninjutsu at the hospital, Saburo monopolizes Sensei's time. They have kenjutsu spars, and Yokuto-Sensei is surprisingly good with a tanto. I suspect that Sensei used to be a member of ANBU. Tantos are standard ANBU equipment. Not to mention, most Inuzaka stick with taijutsu and their clan techniques instead of branching out into other disciplines like kenjutsu.

* * *

About three weeks after graduation, we go on our first D-ranked mission. It's the capture Tora mission, and I swear that Tora is either a nin Cat or, ignoring the fact that Chakra beasts can't have children, the child of the Nibi. There is no way that Tora is a normal house cat. If I was any slower dodging her claws, she would have scratched my left eye out.

It takes us 5 hours to catch Tora, and in the end, all three of us are covered in scratches, dirt, and twigs.

I hold Tora out in front of me, keeping her at arm's length. Both Saburo and Hisao stare warily at her. "That cat is a demon." Saburo shudders. "I think I'll have nightmares. Why did you have us take that mission Sensei? Why?"

Sensei smirks. "That way I can threaten you with taking the Tora mission again if you complain about D-Ranks."

My jaw drops. That's definitely a slytherin move right there. "Sensei." I whine. "Would you really make your poor genin suffer through that again? You're an Inuzuka, you know exactly how evil cats can be."

Sensei smiles sheepishly. "Ahh, no comment."

We pass Tora over to Madame Shikoku who squeezes the poor cat half to death. I'd feel bad for Tora, but the little demon deserves to suffer.

"Taking another D-ranked mission?" The Hokage asks. He definitely looks younger than in the anime. His hair has fewer grey streaks and his face isn't as wrinkly. The Hokage tries to be there as genin teams take their first missions. He's the village leader so it looks nice if he personally gives each team their mission.

"Hai Hokage-Sama. What missions are available?"

The Hokage ruffles through a stack of papers. "We have dog walking, baby sitting, and picking up trash."

"We'll take the mission to pick up trash Hokage-Sama." Yokuto-Sensei says after a minute of contemplation.

We leave the Hokage's office, and Sensei quickly skims through the scroll. "We're picking up trash in one of the rivers. I expect each of you to make use of waterwalking when needed."

"Got it." I hum in acknowledgment.

It's quiet for a minute or two before Saburo speaks up. "Heyyy Hisao-Senpai, Aka-Chan, we should compete to see who can pick up the most trash. I bet I'd win."

"Bring it on Saburo-kun." I smirk.

Sensei grins. "You guys are having a contest then? I doubt any of you can beat me."

"An old man like you could never beat us." I sass.

"Old? I guess I can't help you pick up trash then. I might strain my back or pull a muscle." Yokuto-Sensei quips. He tends to be serious during training, but on D-Ranks and outside of training, he's always willing to crack jokes.

As we reach the river, Sensei hands us each a trash bag and all three of us run out onto the water. I create several chakra strings, using them to pull trash out from the water.

Saburo jolts in surprise, falling into the water when he sees the chakra strings. Sputtering he coughs out "Gah, Aka-chan, that's cheating."

I raise an eyebrow. "Hisao-kun is using chakra strings too."

Saburo glares accusingly at the older boy. "Hisao-senpai, how could you?"

"Ah, fairly easily. I have good chakra control."

"Gahh, you know that's not what I mean." Saburo pouts.

Hisao's lips twitch upwards slightly at the response; it's the beginnings of a smirk. He's pretty shy, but after being around us for a few weeks he's more confident, even cracking the occasional joke.

We have the river cleaned up in no time. Hisao and I gather more trash than Saburo, but that's to be expected. Chakra strings definitely made it easier.

"Okay kids. I'll hand in the mission report to Hokage-Sama. Meet me at training ground 11 for sparring. I perk up at that. Free for all spars are definitely my favorite part of training. We can use any techniques we want, and whoever gets the most hits in by the end of thirty minutes wins. It's super fun.

Sensei is already at the training field when we arrive. We all form the seal of confrontation, and the fight begins.

As I'm still trying to develop my own fighting style, most of my moves are standard Uchiha ones: genjutsu, basic fire ninjutsu, interceptor style taijutsu. I prefer not to use kunai and shuriken, but I'm a decent shot.

I jump backwards, throwing kunai at both Hisao and Saburo. Saburo reflects them with his tanto while Hisao vanishes in a shunsin. I roll out of the way as he reappears behind me, narrowly dodging a chakra scalpel. With a small genjutsu, I make myself appear to be slightly more to the right than I actually am. I attack Hisao, ducking under his blows, and just barely scratching him with a thrown kunai. "Kai!" He breaks the genjutsu. Saburo manages to hit Hisao when he's in the midst of breaking my genjutsu.

I spit a great fireball jutsu at Saburo, throwing several shuriken to the right and left of him. He dodges the fire ball, but doesn't notice the shurikens until it's too late.

Hisao and Saburo double team me, each getting several strikes in before Hisao launches a sneak attack at Saburo, resulting in me and him working together instead.

We switch alliances on whim, backstabbing each other in order to win. I'd say it's bad for teamwork, but it's actually quite the opposite: it helps us learn to operate in pairs instead of a group of three, teaches us to fight two opponents at once, and teaches us to watch our back.

Eventually Yakuto-sensei calls time. "Right, good job everyone. Aka-chan, your genjutsu is coming along nicely. Hisao-kun, good use of chakra-scalpels in stealth attacks. Saburo-kun, you had some really well timed sword strikes. Well fought, all of you." We grin, high-fiving.

"So who won Sensei?" Saburo eagerly asks.

"It was pretty close, but Hisao-kun ended up winning."

I grin, playfully elbowing Hisao. "Good job."

"Thanks." He smiles shyly.

* * *

We go on several more D-ranks, training intermittently, but eventually Sensei allows us to take a C-rank mission.

"Yes! No more boring old D-ranks." Saburo whoops in delight at the news.

I snicker. "Ahh Saburo-kun just because Sensei is letting us do C-ranks doesn't mean we'll stop taking D-ranks."

His eyes widened in horror. "What?!"

"Aka-chan is right" Sensei laughs. "You'll only stop doing D-ranks when you make chunin."

"No…" Saburo slumps in defeat.

"You could always hire another genin team to do the D-rank that you were hired to do, but that would mean you wouldn't get mission pay." Hisao comments.

"Ahh! Great idea Senpai."

"You do realize he was joking, don't you?" I ask.

"Whatever." Saburo chuckles sheepishly before cheering happily. "We're going on a C-rank! What's our mission Sensei?"

"We're escorting a merchant to Haru no Machi, a large city on the outskirts of the land of fire. It should only take a week. Make sure to pack clothes, rations, weaponry, and a bed roll. We'll meet at seven by the gates. Got it?" We all nod in agreement. "Good. You guys can head home for the day."

"Really?!" Saburo questions, lighting up in delight. "We get half the day off?"

"That's what I said. Now leave before I change my mind."

"You got it Sensei!" He quickly scampers off, Hisao and I following.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Naruto or any associated characters. **

* * *

I'm the last one to arrive at the gates. Yokuto-Sensei and my teammates are already there with the client.

"This is your third Genin?" The Client, a portly, bearded man, asks skeptically. "Isn't she a bit, tiny?"

"That may be so, but Aka-Chan is just as qualified as the other two."

"That doesn't reassure me." The man mutters.

"That's not what I mean" Sensei sweat drops. "I'm not saying they're on par with a six year old, I'm saying the six year old is a prodigy who's up to their level."

"Oh that's a bit of a relief." The client, Amano-san, is a textile merchant. Normally he'd travel with a large caravan, and they'd hire a joint Genin team, however, a wealthy client placed an order short notice. They paid extra to get it delivered ASAP, so Amano-san really couldn't wait the extra week for the caravan to leave.

We take formation around Amano-san's cart, log our departure with the chunin guards, and head out of Konoha. There's always a lot of talk about the 1st C-rank going completely down hill, take the wave mission for example. Our mission, however, goes off without a hitch. We don't run into a single bandit, much less an enemy Shinobi. We drop Amano-San off in Haru-no Machi, then head back to Konoha. It's both a disappointment and a relief.

* * *

"Kosuke-nii. Kaa-san! Tou-san!" I shout, bursting into the house.

"Hey Aka-Chan." Tou-san grins, scooping me up into a hug. It looks like he and Kaa-san have just gotten home from the station. "How was your first C-rank?"

"It was pretty boring, nothing actually happened."

"That's how C-ranked missions are supposed to work Aka-Chan." Kaa-san chides. "If you run into anything more complicated than bandits or the occasional genin deserter, you either have really bad luck or the mission was ranked incorrectly," Kaa-san chides.

"I know. I know. But we didn't even run into any bandits." I mutter.

Tou-san ruffles my hair. "I'd take your safety over bandits any day."

"Tou-san" I groan, glaring at him. "Don't mess up my hair."

In my past life, I'd read self insert fanfics before where the self insert didn't really feel comfortable calling their new parents Kaa-San and Tou-San. That doesn't really resonate with me. Although I have memories of my past life, of an adult, I still have the brain chemistry and emotions of a child. They may not be my original parents, but they care for me. It was a bit weird at first, but I love them. It also helps that calling them _Kaa-san and Tou-san _in Japanese is very different than calling them _mom and dad_ in English.

"Hey, where's Kosuke-nii?"

"His team is taking a C-rank mission as well. They left about two days ago."

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Ah maybe two weeks? It's a longer mission with several stops along the way." Tou-san says, setting me back down.

I pout. "Can you and Kaa-San help me train then? You're always working in the police department. I want to spend time with you guys!"

"Why don't I make dinner while your father helps you with taijutsu? I'll help you train sometime else Aka-chan."

"Fine, but you better keep that promise." I pull Tou-san out the door.

He grins at me "Your older brother tells me you're developing your own taijutsu style. How's it going?"

"Pretty good. I have most of the katas done. There's a lot of moves taken from different styles." Some are moves from my past Life. "Most of it's very fluid, perfect for sweeping blows, intermixed with sharp jabs. I also use my opponents body weight against them. I'm thinking of maybe learning to use a whip; it would fit the style nicely. With some of the more acrobatic moves, it would be pretty hard to dodge the blows."

Tou-San nods in agreement. "That definitely seems like a pretty good plan. I'll see if I can find some scrolls for you. If I can't, I'd suggest asking your Jounin Sensei. Now, why don't we test out that new style of yours?" Tou-San lunges forward, lashing out with several punches. I block, attempting to kick him then ducking under another punch. He fights just slightly above my level of skill, giving me a good challenge while not overwhelming me. I duck under a kick and attempt to punch him.

It should be noted that taijutsu sparring is pretty hard for a six year old. Due to the difference in height, most vital strikes are out of reach. It's part of the reason my taijutsu style is very reactionary and fluid. It's hard to attack offensively when you're about the same height as your opponent's waist.

We spar back and forth, Tou-san always staying several steps ahead of me. He'll make suggestions on how to improve as we spar. "Aka keep your guard up. Don't drop your elbow. That last strike should have been sharper." A few of my strikes almost catch him by surprise, but I never truly catch him off guard.

"So, what do you think?" I ask as we sit down on the back porch. It's very nice outside today. The sky is cloudy, and there is a bit of a breeze.

"It's certainly a very good start. I can recognise several moves taken from other styles along with the added acrobatics and katas you created. Most of the moves from other styles are adjusted to make them more fluid and better suited for the style. It's highly dodge oriented with quick sweeping strikes. I'd recommend adding more stances to block attacks and deal heavy damage in case it's needed. The style will definitely become easier as you get older, but at least it also suits a younger fighter."I nod in agreement. I have several moves planned out that won't be possible until I'm taller.

We head in for dinner. Kaa-san has made tonkatsu, and she's a really good cook. She never lets me help cook, and it's definitely for the best. I somehow managed to set sushi on fire. Yes, I know sushi is made with raw fish. I don't know how it happened, it just happened. At least the house didn't catch on fire. I don't need to give my family anymore reasons to think I'm a pyromaniac.

After finishing dinner, I help Kaa-san wash the dishes. "I haven't seen you a lot, these past couple weeks. New genin team keeping you busy?" She asks.

I nod in affirmation. "Yokuto-sensei has us train from six to four. It's a lot."

"No kidding. Did he tell you about the…" She trails off, waiting to see if I know what she's talking about.

I nod. "Yep. He'd rather train us harshly now then have us die in the upcoming war because we weren't prepared."

Kaa-san nods. "Good. Your father and I would certainly give you supplemental training if he wasn't.

* * *

"Aka-chan!" Saburo squeals, picking me up in a hug. "It's been so long! I thought I'd never see you again.

"It's only been two days," Hisao deadpans. I snicker.

"But Senpai! Two days is too long to go without seeing my favorite chibi." He holds me up towards Hiso like a lost kitten. "Look at how adorable she is. She's so tiny and cute. Like a doll."

"I'm not a doll." I snap. "I easily hold my own when sparring with you two doofuses. Now put me down before I bite your arm."

Pouting, Saburo sets me back down. "Maybe she's a baby tiger instead of a kitten. As cute as she is, she's quite vicious."

"Hello? I'm a kunoichi. Being vicious is part of the job."

"She's right you know." Hisao pipes in.

Before Saburo can reply, Sensei appears with a shunshin. "Good! You're all here. Hokage-sama is calling all jounin-sensei in for a meeting."

"Why?" Hisao frowns.

"It's to discuss who's entering the chunin exams. Frankly, I'm not planning on entering you this time around. While I'm gone, you'll work together as a team to evade Hiroto." Sensei pats his ninken on the head. "He's an expert tracker so you'll need to camouflage your smell, hide your tracks, stay quiet, and stay out of view. You guys will get a five minute head start. Everytime you get caught, Hiroto will wait for five minutes before hunting you down again. Good luck!" Yokuto-sensei vanishes again.

We all turn to stare at Hiroto. The ninken is pretty much the same height as me, not that that's saying much. A bandana with the Konoha symbol is tied around his neck. Hiroto tilts his head as if to say "What are you doing silly genin, get a move on it." We vanish into the treeline.

"How the heck are we supposed to hide our scent?" Saburo panics.

"Find a stream or use mud?" Hisao suggests.

I frown. "We'd drip water everywhere, mud might work, but I'm not sure. Either way, I'd rather not cover myself in mud. It's probably best to focus on what we know." My teammates nod in agreement.

We attempt to stay up wind to hide our smell, and we take light steps to avoid making noise or leaving a physical trail. We are conciousious of the location of trees and foliage for that same reason. We do a decent job, but we move fairly slowly. When trying to avoid being tracked in the future, there's no doubt that we'll have to move faster. For now though, we learn to do things slowly so we'll know what to do when we move faster.

Hisao catches up to us after five to ten minutes. He gives us another five minute start so we can try again. Needless to say he catches us in under 15 minutes each time. Each time we improve, managing to avoid him for a little bit longer. Personally, I think we do quite well. We're only genin afterall.


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Naruto or any associated characters. Now without further ado, here is chapter 5!**

* * *

For our second C-rank, we're delivering new orders and intel to a Konoha outpost. This time, I'm the first to arrive at the gate. My teammates show up a few minutes after me with Yokuto-sensei arriving last. He carries the scroll we're supposed to deliver to the outpost.

"Listen up." Sensei says. "We're delivering intelligence to one of our border outposts. We'll travel via tree. Once at the outpost, we'll stay overnight before heading back."

We nod before heading out. Yokuto-sensei takes the lead with the boys and I trailing behind him. We travel in a loose diamond formation. Traveling through the tree 's a bit awkward at first; my teammates and I have all the skills to leap between the tree branches, but we've never practiced. Eventually we get the hang of it, gliding swiftly through the tree branches.

By the end of the day, we arrive at the outpost; all three of us are exhausted. As Sensei flashes through several hand signs, providing the proper code, a chunin appears with a shunshin. "Yokuto-san, good to see you." The chunin grins.

"Likewise Daichi-san. How's border patrol treating you?"

"Ahh." The Chunin takes the scroll, beckoning us into the genjutsu hidden base. "Decently enough. We've had more skirmishes than normal though. Things are heating up."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Yokuto sensei hums. "Anyway, this is my genin team." We head down the concrete corridors, stopping at a bunk room. Three of the beds are already taken. "Hisao-kun, Saburo-kun, and Aka-chan, say hi to Daichi-san."

"Hey!" Saburo grins, bouncing over to the chunin as I wave and Hisao murmurs a quiet hello. "How do you know Sensei?" Saburo questions.

"We participated in the Chunin exams together; one of your Sensei's genin team mates got injured on a mission so I filled in for the chunin exams."

"Chunin exams! Really? Sensei didn't let us take the exams this year, but we will be ready by the time next year comes around!"

"I don't doubt it." Sensei smiles fondly at us. "You guys are getting pretty good."

"You bet we are!" Saburo fist pumps.

"You're still pretty young though."

"Ahh, but Sensei." Saburo whines.

"I didn't say you couldn't do it. The Hatake boy managed to make chunin at six."

"Really Sensei?" Hiaso asks disbelievingly.

"Yah, really sensei? That would mean he was the same age as Aka-chan!" Saburo cries smushing me in a hug. "Look how tiny and adorable she is."

"Hatake won the whole exam too."

"What!" Saburo releases me from the hug slowly examining me. "I just don't see it sensei."

"Saburo-kun" I whine. "Just because I'm six like Hatake was, and I've already graduated, doesn't mean I'll make Chunin at six. You just said we're not competing this year."

"Oh yah." He chuckles sheepishly. Hisao rolls his eyes at the response.

"Why don't you three get some sleep." Sensei smiles fondly, ruffling Saburo's hair. "We'll be heading back to Konoha tomorrow."

We turn in for the night quickly falling asleep. We're not asleep for long.

Boom. I bolt out of bed as an explosion echoes through the base. Panicking, I look at Hisao. "What's going on."

"We're under attack." The older boy states.

"What should we do Senpai?" Saburo questions.

"Let's gather our weapons and head towards the explosion." Hisao is confident in crisis, completely opposite of his normally nervous demeanor. "Just make sure to keep your head down and stay out of the battle. We won't interfere unless our help is needed."

We quickly gather our weapons and head closer to where the explosion came from. I've never been more glad that Sensei insisted we wear mission clothes to sleep.

There's a giant hole in the side of the base. Rubble litters the ground, and three of our chunin lie dead, Daichi is one of them. Sensei works in tandem with Hiroto, trying his best to hold his own against the two Iwa jounin attacking him. "Frick." I breath out, heart pounding. Konoha is outnumbered. Sensei and three wounded chunin are trying to hold their own against four enemy jounin and and a chunin. There are three more chunin heading towards us to secure the fight was practically over before we arrived.

"Frick. We need to get out of here." We duck back into the base, rushing back the way we came.

"We need to help Sensei." Saburo hisses back at me.

"There's nothing we can do for sensei. We are genin. We'd just get in the way." Hisao states as we rush through the base. "We need to get help and let someone know that Iwa infiltrated the border. You know that's what Sensei would order us to do."

"Fine, but how do we escape? There's no other exit. We can't blow open a new one without being heard and caught. Aka's genjutsu isn't high enough leveled to hide us, and we can't get past those Iwa-nin without being noticed. There's no way out but fighting."

"Frick, he's right." I hiss. "Our stealth isn't good enough to escape. But how could we even help sensei? We'd just get in the way."

"She's right Saburo." Hisao mutters. "We'd just get captured and then Sensei would surrender so they wouldn't kill us." We end up back in the bunk room.

"Anything is better than just sitting here waiting to die." Saburo spits angrily. "We should find an emergency flare and set it off." Our eyes widen at that comment and we quickly turn to the three taken beds, ruffling through the packs set at the foot of them. None of us are equipped with emergency flares of our own.

Saburo lets out a quiet whoop of triumph as he finds a flare. "Okay, we'll blow a hole in the wall then set off the flare."

"We'll die." Hisao mutters. "We're genin, no useful intelligence. They'll kill us."

"We're shinobi." Saburo states. "We protect Konoha with our lives."

"Wait." I interrupt.

"What is it?" Saburo asks.

"Reverse summoning."

"What?"

"If you do the summoning jutsu without a contract you'll be dumped somewhere in the summonings world. You might form a summoning contract, you might be killed, or they might just dump you back in the human world, but at least you'd have a chance. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram."

Hisao laughs incredulously. "Okay, Let's do this." We set off several explosion tags breaking a hole in the wall before launching the flares.

_Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" _We scream in unison, vanishing as the Iwa chunin slam the door open and rush into the room.

Honestly, my teammates and I might be a bit insane. Just a bit.

* * *

I stumble slightly as I reappear. A large forest stretches out to the left of me, and grasslands fill the rest of the island. The island is hilly, but not mountainous. It's quiet and peaceful, with just the gentle lull of the ocean and the humming of insects. It's really quite beautiful

I head further inland, towards the center of the island. I appeared fairly close to the shore. Neither of my teammates are anywhere insight, disappointing, but understandable. There was no way that we'd all end up in the same summons realm. Hearing the scuttling of claws I turn my head sharply.

There's a large lizard; it's at least eight feet long. It's head is flat and its tail is long and sinuous; it looks vaguely like an alligator. "Komodo dragon" I breathe.

The komodo dragon lunges towards me, claws extended. Yelping, I duck before spinning around and lashing out with a kunai. The komodo dragon, surprisingly nimble for its large size, easily dodges. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" I shout, spitting out a fire ball. The komodo dragon swallows the fire ball before spitting it out back at me. I gawk. What the frick? Is it Natsu from fairy tail or something?

The komodo dragon slashes forward, claws racking my left cheek. I hiss in pain, dodging as it spits several smaller fireballs at me. I throw several kunai at the komodo dragon, not wanting it to turn any more of my fire jutsu back on me. The kunai bounce right off its armored scales. Seriously?

Then it spits more fireballs at me. Komodo dragons couldn't spit fire in my last life. That has to be some chakra BS. I yelp as one of the fireballs hits my shoulder. Quickly patting the fire out, I continue dodging the fire balls. These summons are honestly awesome!

"Shiro. Cut it out." The komodo dragon I'm fighting, Shiro apparently, stops as an even larger Komodo dragon appears. His scales are pitch black and a scar bisects his left eye.

"The King wishes to meet the potential summoner."

Shiro snarls. "We've never had a summoner, and we don't need one. Besides, the brat is too young. We should kill her."

Ignoring Shiro, the larger Komodo Dragon gestures for me to follow. I quickly do so, not wanting to stay with Shiro any longer. He definitely doesn't like me.

* * *

The King is tiny. Grey wisps of hair float around his head, and he is quite obviously blind. "This is the child." He rasps.

"Hai."

"Hmmm. Her inner fire burns bright. She would make a good summoner. Tell me child. What is your goal in _this_ lifetime?"

"_This lifetime_." I ask. How does he know?

"I may not see with my eyes, but I can see the heart, the fire of your soul, and you burn gold Uchiha Ayaka. Or do you prefer Caitlyn?"

I wince. "It's Aka now. I've put the past behind me.

"Aka then. Why do you need our help. What goal does your fire burn so brightly for?"

"I want to protect my family. My brother. My genin team."

"Oh? And what of the rest of the world. Would you protect it?"

"If possible."

"And if it was your loved ones vs the world? Who would you choose?"

"I'd find a way to save both. But if that wasn't possible, the world" I wince. "But only because my family would never forgive me if I put them above the world. Or them above Konoha."

"Hmmm. You speak true and from the heart. The Komodo dragons will help you in your quest as long as your fire continues to burn bright Uchiha Aka." He passes me the summoning scroll and a brush. Cutting my finger with a kunai, I carefully write my name in blood. It's the first name on an otherwise blank scroll.

"Thank you… ah?" I don't know his name.

"It's alright child. I haven't had a name in a long time. He dismisses me with a wave of his hand, and I reappear in the bunk room.

Thankfully the Iwa chunin are gone. "Aka-chan" Saburo whisper yells. You're back. Are you okay?" He eyes my scorched clothes and bleeding cheek.

"Yah. I have a contract with the komodo dragons now."

"Really? I landed on some really weird grey bear things. They were sleeping and were really disgruntled when I woke them. They were surprisingly vicious, but super cute. Weirdly enough, they didn't have a contract. Something about it taking away from sleeping time."

"Oh. Koala bears! They sleep almost 20 hours a day."

"Twenty hours? Are they part Nara?" Saburo sweat drops. "Anyway, after they got bored of chasing me, they sent me back. I arrived a few minutes before you and scouted the base. Reinforcements haven't arrived yet, but The Iwa nin are gone. Sensei has vanished as well; I think they took him captive."

Poof. Hisao reappears in a cloud of smoke. "Hisao!" Both Saburo and I grin.

"Are you okay?"

"Did you get a contract?"

"Ughh. yah. I'm a bit wobbly from the venom, jellyfish summons, but my medical ninjutsu held the venom off. When they accepted me as a summoner, the jellyfish healed me so I wouldn't die. It was some sort of test about summoners needing to withstand their venom. If I was any less capable with medical ninjutsu I'd be dead."

"That's a relief." I sigh. "We should guard the border while waiting for reinforcements." The three of us take up posts in the trees, watching the forest. It's doubtful we'll be any help, but at least we feel useful this way.

Reinforcements arrive about five minutes later. They're Konoha ANBU. "Genin. Report." I yelp in surprise as a bird masked ANBU appears behind me, barely refraining from drawing a kunai.

"Uchiha Ayaka. 0011254. Iwa-nin." I stammer. "Four jounin and four chunin."

"How did three genin escape?" His voice is calm, and it soothes my trembling hands. Huh. I didn't even notice how panicked I was. Now everything feels nice and happy.

"We were sleeping when they attacked. We went to see what was happening and Sensei was outnumbered. We would have just gotten in his way if we tried to help. We retreated back into base and decided to set off an emergency flare to get help. We then decided to reverse summon ourselves in order to escape."

"Reverse summon? All three of you have summoning contracts?"

"Ah, none of us had summoning contracts, but it seemed like a better plan then being killed or taken captive." The light happy feeling seems to lift. Oh. Genjutsu. Probably one to help calm people down and make them more receptive to giving information.

With a shunshin, we appear in front of the base. Two more ANBU members appear with my teammates. They quickly communicate with hand signs before a tiger masked ANBU addresses us. "Stay at the outpost. We're going after your sensei. Have two people patrol the border together while the other sleeps." With a couple of hand signs a small bird summon appears in front of him. He passes the bird a scroll and it flies away. "Reinforcements should arrive in two days at most. They'll say 'When _the eagle flies south' _and you'll respond with '_we march north tall and strong.' _Try to avoid reckless plans like reverse summoning yourselves next time."

We sheepishly nod as the ANBU team vanishes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any associated characters. **

**Hey everyone thank you for reading. **

* * *

Hisao and I take first watch. It's peaceful. The trees gently sway, leaves flutter, and the chirp of insects fills the night sky. It feels wrong that it's so peaceful when people just died and Sensei was just kidnapped.

I knew that being a Shinobi would mean killing, fighting, and potentially dying for Konoha, but I didn't understand what that meant. We should have fought today, killed today, and died today. We were in over our heads, yet we found a loophole, a half assed escape ticket. Most Genin teams wouldn't be that lucky. Most Genin teams would be dead or captured.

What's a Genin compared to a jounin or even a chunin? If I had died, I'd just be another name on the memorial stone. I would have died for Konoha, but my death would have been meaningless in the long run. It wouldn't have resulted in a monumental change or saved the village. I don't want to be just another name. It might be a bit presumptuous, but in my first life, I died as a nobody. In my second life, I want to live as a somebody. Damn it. It's my second life and I'm going to live. I'm going to train until I'm exhausted, limbs shaking, eyes dropping, and brain half melted.

In my past life, I just went through the motions. I never tried. I never pushed myself to my breaking point. I'll be damned if I let my precious people die because I was too weak. Next time I will stand my ground and protect Sensei, Hisao, and Yokuto instead of turning tail and fleeing. I care for them. My brother. My parents. Konoha. I already died once. What's dying again if it means saving them?

"Ahh Aka-Chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Sensei is alright?" Hisao questions, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"I hope so." I mutter "I sure hope so."

Reinforcements arrive the next day, and we head back to Konoha. Sensei is alright, but he'll be stuck in the hospital. He's not allowed visitors yet since he still needs to be debriefed by T&I.

It's close to midnight when I arrive home. Sliding into Kosuke-nii's bed, I curl up next to him. "Aka-chan." He mutters sleepy. "You alright?"

"I think so." I murmur. It may have been a wake up call, but it wasn't a deadly one by any means. "Good night Nii-san."

"Good night Imouto."

* * *

A week later Yokuto-Sensei is released from the hospital. "Sensei!" Saburo cheers. "They wouldn't let us into the hospital to see you! We were so worried. Are you okay?"

Sensei smiles. It's a bit shaky, genuine, but forced. "Yah, I'm okay. It's nice to see you guys too. I'm glad that you escaped, though you shouldn't do something so reckless next time. Summoning jutsu? Really Aka-chan?"

"Sensei, what are you looking at me for?" I whine.

"Are you saying it wasn't your idea?"

"Oh, It definitely was my idea." I smirk.

"That's what I thought."

"Ah. Sensei? What exactly happened?" Hisao asks.

"Sorry kids, but that is classified."

Hisao nods in understanding while Sbauro, whines. "But Sensei. What happened?"

"I really can't say. It's classified. Now come on. We have D-ranks to do."

"D-ranks?! Do we have to?"

Yokuto-Sensei chuckles "We do. I'm still on rest for a few days, and I want to hold off on any more C-ranks until we have a bit more training."

We grumble and groan, but only half heartedly. As much as D-ranks are a pain, I think we're all relieved to hold off on the C-ranks for a bit. As bad as our last mission was, it could have been drastically worse. The chunin team guarding the outpost lost their lives. Sensei got lucky with being captured and probably tortured. He doesn't say he was, but I'm pretty certain he was. His eyes are darker and he's more fidgety than normal. "Sensei." I frown "Where's Hiroto?" Normally the large, cheerful dog follows him everywhere.

Yokuto-Sensei winces. "Hiroto is still healing."

"Healing?" Saburo chirps confused. "How'd he get hurt?"

"The Iwa-nin who captured me wanted information. Jounin are fairly resiliant to torture, so they hurt Hiroto, figuring I'd give up information to protect my partner."

We pale. "Will he be okay?"

"Thankfully he will be" Yokuto Sensei sighs. He looks far older now. His eyes are tired, and his shoulders are slumped. "I'm glad you three followed Akas-chan's insane plan. If you were caught and used against me like they used Hiroto, I'm not sure I would have held out."

We embrace him in a hug, silently offering comfort. It couldn't have been easy. I don't feel bad for Yokuto-Sensei. He wouldn't want my pity. Instead, I offer him comfort and a nonjudgmental hug.

"Sensei, why don't we go get some barbecue" Hisao stammers. It's a painfully obvious attempt at cheering Yokuto-Sensei up. He absolutely adores barbeque. Either way, Sensei seems to appreciate the gesture.

"Alright. Come on you three. Barbeque then more D-ranks."

* * *

"Hey Sensei? Do you know any wind jutsus?" It's been a week. Sensei looks better. Less tired. We've visited Hiroto several times as a team. He'll have scars, but his injuries will heal up nicely.

"I know one or two. Why?"

"I have a dual affinity, fire and wind. I know several fire jutsu, but I don't know any wind ones yet."

"Hmm. Elemental ninjutsu. Good idea Aka-chan. Hisao-kun! Saburo-kun! Get over here." My two teammates quickly pause sparring and run over.

"Hai Sensei?"

"Do either of you know your chakra affinity yet?" They both shake their heads no. "Okay. This is chakra paper." He passes each of my teammates a small slip of paper. "Try pushing some chakra into it." Both boys follow his instructions. Hisao's paper is quickly soaked while Saburo's paper burns. Saburo yelps in surprise, dropping the burning paper and stamping the fire out. Sensei nods thoughtfully at the results. "Water and fire affinities."

"Sensei, what about Aka-chan?" Hisao asks.

"She already knows her affinites."

"Really?"

"Yep." I grin. "Fire and wind."

"No fair! How come Aka-chan gets two?" Saburo complains. "I wish I had two. Lightning and fire would be awesome together! I'd be like zap zap zap, shooting lightning from one hand and fire from the other."

"That's just how it works Saburo-kun." Sensei replies. "It's luck combined with genetics. You can still learn other elements; it will just take more effort. In fact, most Jounin have one technique, if not more, for each element. Anway, I'll teach each of you a jutsu for your element." Sensei shows me the hand signs for a basic wind slash, Hisao the hand signs for a water bullet, and Saburo the hand signs for the great fire ball. He proceeds to demonstrate each Jutsu, and we spend the rest of the day practicing.

* * *

Somehow my teammates figure out that it's my birthday. I blame Kosuke-nii. This is just the type of stunt he'd pull. After training, both Hisao and Saburo are all smiles. "Happy birthday Aka-chan!" Saburo grins, holding out a small brown package. "I hope you like it! Hisao-senpai got you something too." He elbows the older boy who passes me a bright green package.

"Happy birthday Aka-chan" Hisao mutters, flustered.

"Thank you you guys, but you really didn't have to."

Hisao squawks incredulously. "Of course we did. You're our teammate, and a team is like family. Come on open mine first!"

I tear open the packaging, revealing a red ribbon. "It's to tie your hair back! You normally keep your hair about chin length, but it's getting a bit long. It looks super pretty long, but I know my brother's teammate always complains about how annoying long hair is. This way, if you want to keep it long you have something to tie it back with. If not, you can use the ribbon as a headband or as a bookmark."

"Thanks!" I tie my hair back with the ribbon before opening Saburo's gift. I grin, examining the scrolls. They explain various moves and katas to use with a whip. "These are perfect! Did my brother tell you I was looking to learn to use a whip?"

"Yah." Hisao smiles sheepishly. "I didn't really know what to get you so I asked."

"Well, they're both great gifts. Thank you guys." I embrace both my teammates in a hug.

* * *

As night falls, I sit on the roof of my house, blanket draped over my shoulders. It's been seven years since I was reborn in the naruto verse. I'm happy here with my older brother and my teammates. I'm happy in Konoha. I'm happy living in a fictional ninja world where death and suffering are always hiding just around the corner. It's weird.

I hope it stays like this. Simple genin missions, D-ranks, and laughter, but I know the shinobi world doesn't work that way. At some point the Third Shinobi War will start, and we will fight in it, and possibly die in it. After that comes the Kyuubi attack, the Uchiha Massacre, Pein's invasion, and the Fourth Shinobi War. I need to get stronger.

I need a plan. I've had seven years, but I haven't figured out how to stop the Uchiha massacre and the deaths of my new family. The coup, Danzo, Madara, and Obito all played a part in the massacre. They also caused most of the conflict in _Naruto. _

If I take Madara and Zetsu out, I can stop everything before it happens. I can save countless lives. Sure the shinobi world might not ban together against a common enemy, but if worse comes to worse, I can play the villain in order to unify the shinobi world and stop war. It would actually be kind of fun. A rather twisted definition of fun, but I've long since accepted that I'm a bit messed up.

The issue is that I can't kill Madara and Zetsu if I don't know where they are. The only information I have is that during the Kannabi bridge mission, Obito "dies" and Madra rescues him. The problem is I don't know exactly when or where that Kannabi bridge mission will occur. Rough Anime dates and locations are drastically ineffective in real life. The easiest way for me to find out would be through spying on my own village, something that would likely get me caught and interrogated.

If I can't save Obito, I have to kill him. If, however, I kill him, I'll have no clue what evil schemes Madara and Zetsu are plotting. Therefore, the best option is to use Obito as a trojan horse. I'll set a time delayed explosive tag on him, and with any luck, it will kill Obito, Zetsu, and Madara Honestly, I don't like the plan. It's pretty coldhearted; Uchiha Obito isn't evil. He's just a kid. But it's the best plan I have. Hopefully it will stop the Kyuubi attack, The Uchiha Massacre, Pein's invasion, and the fourth shinobi war.

If the Kyuubi attack doesn't occur, the mistrust and isolation of the Uchiha won't get as bad. Therefore, if the coup still ends up happening, it's probably Danzo's fault. The old geezer has it out for the Uchiha clan. In that scenario I'd assassinate him before Itachi massacred his clan. Maybe I could even take over root, and use them as my private army in order to force the Shinobi world to join hands and sing kumbaya.

God, there's so many ways this could go wrong, but as Dory always says: "Just keep swimming." No matter how many explosions and crashes you hear behind you, everything will turn out alright in the end. If it doesn't, and if you lose instead of win, then at least society will give you a trophy for trying your best.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any associated characters.**

**Irina Akashira: Thanks for the advice! I hadn't actually considered some of those points, especially the Zetsu one. Right now, the explosive tag idea is the best plan in Aka's eyes, but she'll definitely end up with a different plan now. As for contacting Kushina, she probably won't ever reveal her secret to anyone since Konoha is a paranoid military village.**

* * *

"Saburo-kun! Hisao-kun, How's it going?" I grin at my teammates.

"Pretty good Aka-chan. I finally got that fire jutsu down." Saburo responds. "Maybe I can get Sensei to teach me another."

"I'm afraid that you will have to wait for that Saburo-kun." Sensei arrives with a shunshin. He sighs, anxiously running a hand through his hair. "Sorry to be blunt, but Iwa and Konoha are now at war."

"What." Hisao gasps. "Please say you're kidding Sensei."

I know Sensei is not kidding. He warned us that the 3rd Shinobi war was fast approaching. Not to mention, I knew, according to the anime, that eventually the war would start.

Either way, I'm worried. We're not ready for war. I'm seven. Saburo is ten. Hisao is fourteen. We should be in school, learning, laughing and making friends, not fighting and killing. We may have read about war, but there's a difference between fighting in one and reading about one. We haven't even been in a true fight. In our last mission, we were outnumbered. We got help and retreated. We didn't fight. Sure we may have sparred, but sparring is different than fighting for your life. It's different than fighting for the life of your friends.

"Sorry Hisao-kun. I'm not 'll be fine though. You won't be on the front lines. Our team will act as a delivery team. We'll run new orders and supplies from Konoha to various outposts. We're leaving now for a C rank. We're delivering new supplies to three different outposts and will be gone for a week. Meet me by the front gates."

"Hai Sensei." We vanish.

I stare at myself in the mirror. Short wavy black hair tied back with a red ribbon. Dark eyes. Long black eyelashes. Porcelain skin. Small. Dainty. I don't look like a shinobi. I look like a doll, and the kimono top doesn't help. At Least it's a dark blue rather than pink. The only thing shinobi about me is the forehead protector tied around my neck and the calluses on my hands.

I turn away from the mirror, moving to pack supplies for the mission. A first aid kit, a change of clothes, ration bars, and weapons. "Imouto?" Kosuke-nii knocks on the door.

"You can come in nii-san."

"C-rank?" He asks, seeing the supplies I'm packing.

"Yep." I nod. "Did you hear that the war is starting?" It's a callous question, phrased like _how's the weather _or _what are you having for dinner. _It doesn't portray the fear I feel. Everything is all fine and dandy until you realize this is real life, not an anime.

He sighs. "Yep I heard. My team got promoted to chunin because of it."

"Chunin?" I gawk.

"Yah. We're skilled enough. We would have taken the last Chunin Exams, and probably been promoted, but one of my teammates was still injured from a mission. It made a lot of sense to promote us. They need all the Jounin possible for the war. My genin team is staying together though, and we'll still run B-ranks with Sensei, but now we'll run C-ranks without him."

I nod in understanding. "Okay." I rush forward and hug him. "Be safe."

"I'm not the one leaving for a C-rank." Kousuke-nii grins down at me, ruffling my hair.

"Nii-san." I whine. "Not the hair."

"Yah, I know. Be safe Imouto. I'll tell Kaa-san and Tou-san you're leaving on a C-rank. They're working right now."

"Thanks." I give him another hug before heading over to the gate.

* * *

Leaving Konoha, we leap into the trees. It's faster then walking and more stealthy than running down the middle of the road. I'm nervous. I fiddle with my Kunai pouch anxiously, afraid that at any time, something will go wrong. "Aka-chan." Sensei sighs. Everything will be okay. Just because the third war has started, doesn't mean we'll be attacked."

"Sensei don't jinx it. Now something bad is guaranteed to happen."

"Ah, Aka-chan, I don't think that's how it works." Hisao comments.

"Yah lighten up." Saburo grins. "Hisao-senpai and I will protect you." I slap him. "Owww what was that for Chibi-chan." I slap him again. "Aka-chan" Saburo whines.

"I can protect myself. You know that. We're all genin. Also, don't call me Chibi-chan."

"Hai Aka-hime!" I hit him again. "Gak! Stop hitting me Hime! And Senpai, don't just laugh. Stop our pint sized team mate! Gak. Hisao-Senpai, that's not your cue to laugh even more."

"Mo. Settle down guys." Sensei looks back at us with a smile. "Focus on the mission. Just because we're not likely to be attacked, doesn't mean we'll run into any trouble." We quiet down.

Despite my fears, I eventually calm down. I even teach my teammates I spy. It helps us pay attention to our surroundings and stay on guard while staving off boredom.

Saburo sighs "I spy with my little eye something that is green."

"A tree." Hisao deadpans.

"Ah Senpai. Your guess is right. Your turn."

"I spy with my little eye something blue."

"The sky?" Saburo asks.

"Yep."

"Guys that's not how you play! You don't choose the most obvious answer. You want to make it hard for your opponents to actually guess correctly." I glare at both my teammates.

"But Aka-chan." Saburo explains. "That makes the game hard." I turn my glare towards him. "Eep. Fine. I spy with my little eye something…kunai!"

I deflect several kunai thrown our way as a group of Iwa-nin appear. "Ahhh…. Sensei?" I stammer.

Yokuto-Sensei takes a step forward, putting himself between us and the Iwa-nin. "What are you doing in the Land of Fire?"

I examine the group. There's only three of them, but they are stronger than us with two chunin and a jounin versus our jounin and three genin. One of the chunin smirks. "What do you think we're doing, tree huggers?"

Yokuto-Sensei glares at them. "Either infiltration or sabotage. It was stupid of you to reveal your presence by attacking us. You've just blown your mission."

The jounin scowls. "Vengeance is not stupidity. My father was killed by Konoha in the second war; it will be easy enough to kill you and the little genin before finishing the mission."

I stare at the jounin incredulously. Did he really ruin a mission for something that stupid. We're at war now. He'll have plenty of chances to kill Konoha-nin, chances that won't interfere with whatever infiltration of sabotage mission he has.

I yelp as one of the chunin rushes towards me and the other attacks my teammates. Sensei is quickly attacked by the jounin and the battle begins.

"Drop the weights." I scream, barely dodging several kunai. Sensei gave us training weights to improve strength and speed, but against chunin we need all the advantages we can get. Thankfully, the weights are based around seals, making it easy enough to release the excess weight mid battle.

I block several heavy blows, arms shuddering at the strength behind them. I duck under the next few blows. He hits hard. "Smart girl." The chunin smirks. He's large and bulky, with a confident grin. I unfurl my whip. Extending my range will make it harder for him to get in those heavy handed taijutsu hits. His grin widens at that. "Very smart."

Running through several hand signs, he pulls up the ground around him as armor. Earth armor. Crap. I dodge several more blows, lashing out with my whip to prevent him from getting too close. Although the armor makes him move slower, those hits look twice as devastating. I dart forward, whip slicing against his armor; it doesn't do anything. How am I supposed to defeat him? My style is based on speed and critical hits. I don't have enough raw strength to break through his armor. I don't have any heavy handed attacks like the chidori either.

Ducking under several strikes, I frown at the whip in my hands. If I could infuse it with enough wind chakra, I might be able to break through his armor with a strong slice. I don't know how to do that though, and I know better than trying untested techniques mid battle.

I examine his armor, looking for weak points. His eyes aren't covered. Also, joints would be weaker; they need to be flexible to permit movement, something that makes them less sturdy. I lash out with the whip again, striking at the elbow. The whip at least slices his armor this time, but it doesn't deal any damage to him. I dodge several more strikes. Honestly, if the battle continues like this, it will just be a battle of endurance. As a seven year old, I would undoubtedly lose.

I chance a glance towards my teammates. Not good. Their opponent is faster than them, and seems to just be playing with them. She's a swordsman. Saburo, although learning kenjutsu, doesn't stand a chance against her, and she's more than fast enough to dodge any senbon thrown by Hisao. Hisao meets my eye. "_Switch." _I mouth. He examines my opponent before nodding, coming to the same conclusions I did. His poison and senbon along with Saburo's traps will be a much better fit against the rock armored chunin, while I'll have a better shot at defeating the female kenjutsu user.

I duck under another blow before darting towards the female chunin; my whip lash almost catches her off guard, but she manages to parry in time. "Aka-chan" Saburo squacks in surprise, dodging another sword strike.

"We're switching opponents." I duck under the women's blows, sending several rapid whip strokes that she barely dodges.

Saburo examines the rock armored man before nodding in agreement. "Makes sense."

I frown in concern. He has several deep cuts on his arm from the woman's strikes and his shoulder is bleeding rather heavily. "Hey, be careful." He nods before darting off.

The female chunin scoffs. "Switching opponents won't do you any good. You're outmatched here little genin."

"We'll see about that."

I'm the fastest of my team, and while the rock armored man was just a smidgen slower than me, making it easier to dodge his blows, the woman is faster than me. I block several sword strikes with a kunai, occasionally lashing out with my whip in an attempt to catch her off guard. She gets several light hits in while dodging all my attacks. She definitely outmatches me.

Sensei is out of sight, the jounin have long since moved their fight away from us.

I jump backwards to avoid another strike. I'm covered in cuts, but nothing serious. I may be slower than her, but I'm fast enough to avoid serious injury. Dodge. Parry. Duck. Dodge. My whip slashes through her arm, and I smile in delight. Finally, a solid blow.

Something seems wrong. I scream as cold metal slices into my shoulder. Substitution jutsu mixed with genjutsu. Frick. I stumble backwards, barely dodging the next blow. Frick.

The rock armored chunin hits Saburo clear across the chest, sending him flying. "Saburo-kun!" I hear Hisao scream. I want to run to them. I want to help them, but I'm having enough trouble with my own opponent.

Everything is sharper, clearer, brighter. I easily doge the next few blows the chunin sends. She stares at me in shock. "Uchiha…" I strike out with my whip. It becomes an extension of my arm, twisting and turning as I dance around my opponent. The world seems to move slower.

I push her onto the offensive, forcing her backwards and away from my teammates. I must protect them. They're now out of sight, fighting somewhere else in the forest.

Every strike, every move I make is calculated and controlled. I look for openings in her guard and strike at vital points. She manages to dodge, but I get several hits in.

I freeze as my whip slashes across her chest, just barely managing to creep into her guard. The woman stumbles backwards, blood gushing from her chest. She coughs, having trouble breathing, before crumbling to the ground. I stare as red pools out around her. Deadeaddaeeeaddddaeeddd. I killed her. She's dead. I killed her.

Boom. I startle as an explosion echoes through the clearing. Frick. My teammates. My teammates are still fighting. Or dead. Or the chunin is dead. I need to know if they're okay. I stumble through the forest heading back towards where they were fighting the rock-armored chunin.

The rock-armored chunin lays on the ground, armor crumbled around him. His skin is charred and several senbon stick out of him. There's a senbon in his eye socket. Dead. He's dead too. Saburo stares at the body, face ashen. Hisao next to him, comforting the younger boy. They're both okay.

"Hisao-kun! Saburo-kun!" Hisao jolts, turning to look at me as I run towards him.

"Aka-chan," Hisao gasps in relief as I embrace him in a hug before letting go.

" Are you okay?"

"Hai."

"Saburo-kun? Are you okay?" He visibly startles, hand jumping to a kunai as I rest a hand on his shoulder. "Aka-chan!" He gasps. "Sorry. I should have found you and helped. But he was dead. And his skin is all bubbly and charred." Saburo's face is slightly green as he stares at the Iwa-chunin.

"No, no." I pull both of my teammates into a hug, clutching them like a lifeline. "I get it. The Iwa-chunin, she's dead too. I killed her. I think we finished fighting around the same time." I half laugh half sob. "I…" my voice cracks. "I'm just glad you guys are okay."

* * *

Sensei finds us curled up next to each other a few minutes later. My cheeks are damp with dried tears and all of our eyes are suspiciously red. "I'm here if your guys want to talk." Sensei murmurs. "Or if you just need a shoulder to cry on." He doesn't say that it's okay or that everything will be alright which I appreciate. Everything is not okay, and he doesn't know if everything will be alright. Understanding and comfort is a million times better than empty platitudes.

"Thank you Yokuto-Sensei." I pull Sensei and Hiroto into the hug, the ninken offering big slobbery kisses to each of us.

"Aghh Hiroto." Saburo splutters, trying to wipe away the dog slobber.

With my team at my side, everything seems perfect in this moment.


End file.
